CM aide vows to tap natural resources to fight poverty: Chitral expo
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Industries Abdul Karim Tordher on Saturday said Chitral had tremendous potential for economic development and this could help fight poverty in the region. He was speaking at the two-day Chitral Expo which was jointly held by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KP BOIT) and Chitral Chamber of Commerce. He said the basic agenda of the government was to explore the local natural resources of an area to provide employment opportunities to maximum people for which investors were being encouraged to invest in different ventures. Abdul Karim said efforts were being made to bring investments to Chitral through public private partnership.
Türkiye inks lng contract with totalenergies to diversify supply mix
Türkiye on Wednesday announced a 10-year deal to receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from French firm TotalEnergies beginning in 2027, as the country seeks to diversify its source of supplies. The deal between Turkish state oil and gas company BOTAŞ and TotalEnergies was signed at Gastech, an industry conference in Houston, Texas. “The 10-year-deal will start in 2027 and will deliver 16 LNG cargoes of up to 1.6 billion cubic meters per year,” Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar wrote on social media platform X. Türkiye imports most of its gas from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan but has made a push to diversify its long-term supply as several contracts start to expire from next year.
In 2023-24 rice exports touched $3.9bn
Pakistan has, perhaps for the first time, touched the mark of $3.89 billion in earnings from rice exports, which were made possible mainly due to favourable weather conditions, availability of farm inputs and an Indian ban on export of non-Basmati rice. This was stated by founder of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap), Shehzad Ali Malik, while announcing the unopposed election of new Reap chairman Malik Faisal Jahangir here on Monday. Outgoing senior vice-chairman Haseeb Khan, Reap patron Pir Syed Nazim Shah, former chairman Shahjahan Malik and others were also present on the occasion.
Oil ministry receives executive order to increase oil production by 250,000 bpd
Iran’s Economic Council, in coordination with the Planning and Budget Organization (BPO), has notified the Oil Ministry to start implementing a plan to boost oil production in 34 oil fields. Based on this plan, Iran’s daily oil production will be increased by 250,000 barrels, Mehr News Agency reported.
As reported, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is going to provide the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) with $3.0 billion of facilities to implement the plan which was approved in a meeting of the mentioned council in mid-August.
India’s vital opportunity to address coal mine methane
Plans to increase coal mining by 2030 will markedly impact methane emissions, highlighting the need for a robust national policy to address coal mine methane.
India is now home to the 3rd largest solar power generation in the world, but unprecedented increases in electricity demand are outpacing the capacity for renewables to bridge the growing electricity gap.
India is currently the world’s second-largest producer, importer and consumer of coal. It is also one of the biggest emitters of methane from coal mining. To meet rising energy demand and reduce coal imports, India’s Ministry of Coal is planning a significant expansion in domestic coal mining, alongside its considerable renewable energy expansion.
Report: Australia’s milk production continues recovery
Australia’s milk production continues to recover, as global supply is forecast to grow at a modest rate in the coming year, Rabobank says in its newly-released Global Dairy Quarterly.
In the third quarter report, the global agribusiness bank says positive – though modest – milk supply growth is expected from the world’s major dairy-exporting regions through the remainder of 2024 and in 2025.
Meanwhile, milk production in Australia in the 2023-24 season – which ended in June – was 3.1 percent higher on the previous year at 8.4 billion litres (an increase of 249 million litres). However, the bank is expecting Australian production to grow at a lower rate in the 2024/25 season – currently forecast at 1.5 percent.
Raging fires burned 10 pc of tereos sugar fields in country: Brazil
Raging fires have burned 10 percent of the Brazilian sugarcane fields belonging to the French cooperative Tereos, resulting in estimated losses exceeding $18 million, a senior executive said on Monday, reported Reuters.
Tereos is the South American country’s second-biggest sugar supplier.. Pierre Santoul, Tereos’ country manager for Brazil, stated that around 30,000 hectares (74,100 acres) of the company’s sugar fields have been burned, resulting in a financial impact of 100 million reais ($18.1 million).
Speaking at an event in Sao Paulo, Santoul expressed concern about the implications for the following season. “Our immediate concern isn’t the 2024/25 harvest but the next year’s (2025/26),” he stated, noting that extended dry weather could exacerbate the situation.
The fires have destroyed fields producing around 1.7 million metric tons of Tereos sugarcane, according to Santoul. Tereos operates seven plants in Brazil, all located in Sao Paulo state, the country’s leading sugar producer.
Industry group UNICA estimated that at least 230,000 hectares of sugarcane were affected by fires in Sao Paulo state during August, with ongoing fires and dry conditions impacting various regions of Brazil this month. There are also suspicions of arson.
Tereos executives have indicated that the fires might also affect the current crop’s sugar quality, potentially leading to a reduced amount of cane available for sugar production.